Beware of spam surveys for PayPal

Today I got an email from a very legitimate looking email ID survey@paypal.com which asked me to fill up a survey and in return I would get paid for it. I have a PayPal account and greed almost took me over until I noticed something odd. Below is the mail that was sent to me (emphasis mine).

Dear ABC XYZ,

In a continuing effort to provide our customers with the best possible payment experience, we randomly select customers like you to participate in surveys. Your feedback will help us to enhance your PayPal experience.

To complete the survey, simply click on the web address shown below (or copy the address into your browser). If you complete the survey, we will send you a check in the amount of $930 INR as a token of our appreciation for taking the time to share your opinions.

<URL>

Sincerely,

PayPal

If you look closely at the amount it says $930 INR. That's what prompted me to call up PayPal customer support and they confirmed this is a spoof mail and I (and you too) should not be responding to this mail.

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PayPal is letting the numbers tell mobile payments success in 2012

PayPal likes the numbers coming from their 2012 balance sheet. The online mobile payment company is reporting $14 billion in customer payments, compared with a projection of $10 billion for last year.

According to PayPal, during the holiday season from October to December, 692 million payments were processed, making it the busiest three months in the company's 14-year history.

PayPal's growth continues with 123 million active accounts, driven by the addition of more customers in the last three months of last year than at any time during the past eight years.

"To all of our customers, both old and new, I’d like to say thank you...for your loyalty, your enthusiasm and for your valued feedback, said David Marcus, president of PayPal. "We are committed to making 2013 a great year for you."

PayPal has been turning their attention to offline retailers and small business. According to PayPal executives, this market is 17 times larger than the online sector.



They launched "PayPal Here" in March as a mobile payment solution that allows small business to accept almost any form of payment by using a free app and a small credit card reader for the iPhone and Android devices.

The online payment sector will get increasingly crowded, as key players explore banking on NFC, or Near Field Communication, to entice consumers to pay for merchandise and services with their smartphones. Google has Google Wallet, Mastercard has PayPass Wallet and Visa is pushing their V.me digital wallet service.

Apple rolled out their Passbook app with iOS 6 in September, which will organize gift cards, coupons, passes, tickets and more, with the idea of making your wallet a lot thinner and lighter. But Apple has stay away from the NFC technology, while it can be found several iPhone competitors, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and Victory, the Nokia Lumia devices, Motorola RAZR i and the HTC 8X.

Several of the mobile carriers, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, are exploring mobile payments services using the Isis Mobile Wallet, which is underway in Salt Lake City and Austin.

While the mobile payments technology continues to emerge, Paypal is banking on introducing their customers to new ways to shop and pay in the years ahead.

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Starbucks chooses Square for mobile payment transactions

Sometime this fall, your favorite Starbucks will be accepting mobile payments using the popular Square system for customer transactions.

Square uses a free credit card reader for smartphones and allows anyone to accept credit cards anywhere using iPhone and Android apps.

The coffee shop powerhouse will use Square's "Pay with Square" app for transactions. Customers also will need to download and set up an account on their smartphone.

Starbucks hopes to give their customers a seamless payment experience at 7,000 stores in the U.S. Square is only available in the U.S. at this time, where "more than two million individual and businesses" use the service.

Contact us: earnesthart@live.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart

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More retailers banking on PayPal for mobile commerce​

As the mobile payments technology continues to emerge, several of the key players are banking on NFC, or Near Field Communication, to entice consumers to pay for merchandise and services with their smartphones. Google has their Google Wallet, Mastercard has their PayPass Wallet and Visa is pushing their V.me digital wallet service.

But PayPal, who has been around over 10 years in the online payments arena, is now turning their attention to offline retailers and small business. According to PayPal executives, this market is 17 times larger than the online sector.

They launched "PayPal Here" in March as a mobile payment solution that allows small business to accept almost any form of payment by using a free app and a small credit card reader for the iPhone and Android devices.

PayPal, who now list 110 million users, recently announced on their blog that they have joined forces with VeriFone and Equinox, the number one and number three point-of-sale terminal manufacturers in the world to include PayPal access. They also announced partnerships with 15 major retailers, including Toys "R" Us, J.C. Penney, Barnes & Noble and Home Depot, a $17 billion dollar retailer who has adopted PayPal in about 2,000 of their stores.

While the NFC technology is likely to continue to grow and gain acceptance, several major retailers are already banking on the PayPal solution for mobile commerce.

Contact us: ehart@earnestharttech.com | Follow on Twitter @ehart​

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